Text messaging 911 calls

A method, comprising steps of:

• receiving, through a mobile communication network including a short message service (SMS) gateway server, text messages from respective mobile stations addressed to an emergency call service number to initiate an emergency service communication session;
• responsive to the text message received at the SMS gateway server, obtaining information identifying a current location of the respective mobile station;
• based on the identified current location the respective mobile station:
• identifying one of a number of public safety answer points (PSAPs) as handling emergency services for the current location of the respective mobile station;
• determining a PSAP assigned to the identified current location of the respective mobile station;
• and
• determining whether the PSAP assigned to the respective mobile station is a teletype (TTY) system or an Internet Protocol (IP) communication capable system;
• for a first emergency service communication session of a first of the mobile stations determined to be handled by an identified PSAP having IP communication capability, communicating the text message between the first mobile station and the IP capable PSAP;
• for a second emergency service communication session of a second of the mobile stations determined to be handled by an identified PSAP not having IP communication capability, translating the text message received from the second mobile station into a TTY format message;
• providing the TTY format message and the information identifying the current location of the second mobile station to the non-IP capable PSAP;
• and
• communicating the text message between the first mobile station and the non-IP capable PSAP, including providing for conversion of text the message from the second mobile station into TTY format and for conversion of TTY format message from the non-IP capable PSAP into text message format.

A method comprising the steps of:

• in step 1:
• receiving an emergency text message addressed to an emergency call service number, wherein the emergency text message is received by a short message service (SMS) gateway server of the emergency handling platform;
• in step 2:
• sending an acknowledgment by the SMS gateway server to a short message peer to peer (SMPP) gateway server of a wireless network;
• in step 3:
• requesting a location of a mobile station of the received emergency text message by the SMS gateway server of the emergency handling platform, from a location platform server (LPS) of the mobile communication network;
• in step 4:
• receiving the location of the mobile station by the SMS gateway server;
• in step 5:
• requesting a Public Safety Answering Point Service Area & Capabilities Database/Mobile Positioning Center (PSAP DB/MPC) to determine the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) assigned to the location of the mobile station and identify whether the PSAP assigned to the mobile station is a teletype (TTY) system or an Internet Protocol (IP) communication capable system;
• in step 6:
• receiving the determination of the PSAP assigned and the respective system of the PSAP assigned;
• and
• in step 7:
• upon determining that the identified PSAP has IP communication capability:
• communicating one or more text messages between the mobile station and the IP capable PSAP;
• upon determining that the identified PSAP does not have IP communication capability but has TTY capability:
• converting the text message received from the mobile station into a TTY format message;
• providing the location of the mobile station to the identified PSAP not having IP communication capability by the PSAP DB/MPC;
• and
• providing text communication between the identified PSAP not having IP communication capability and the mobile station;
• wherein each text message from the mobile station is converted into TTY format and each TTY message from the identified PSAP not having IP communication capability is converted to text by the emergency handling platform.